Sunday Briefing / An occasional look at Orange County issues : Gangs by the Numbers

Authorities say the number of known gang members in Orange County has increased by more than a third in just two years, and the types of crimes they commit are increasingly violent ones. The number of gang-related homicides, for example, has virtually doubled since 1990. Here is a look at growth in gang activity, crime and what gangs roam the streets of Orange County:

* “This is a critical time in the growth of gangs in Orange County. There is a view of gang subculture espoused by many social scientists...that once the gang subculture has become entrenched, it cannot be eliminated absent major structural changes in society itself; witness our neighbor to the north, Los Angeles. Fortunately, more and more people and organizations are coming to recognize this fact and are taking action.”

--Douglas Woodsmall, supervising attorney-gang unit, Orange County district attorney.

* “It’s a matter of working with them and not against them. We’re not going to eliminate them. We can deter them, but we can’t always stop them (from joining).”

--Tom Anthony, a Capistrano Unified School District assistant superintendent who will attend the county’s anti-gang summit.

* “We have has people sitting on their hands in this county, who are influential, who are thinking, “That Doesn’t apply to us.’ and it does.”

--Francisco Briseno, presiding judge of Orange County’s Juvenile Court

* “(Gang members Are) just people who feel that their parents and other people don’t want them. They join gangs because they feel that’s their only way, that’s their family.”

--Maria Ramirez, 12th-grader and student body president at Santa Ana High School

* “What we’re hearing from the community is that the problem is big, is getting worse and people are scared. They see it as an epidemic. And it is.”

--John Gaudette, Orange County Congregation Community Organization director

* “Schools could do a lot by getting a lot more people involved instead of the same people all the time.”

--Kim Mucha, a 12th grader at Foothill High School in Tustin who will attend the county’s anti-gang summit.

* “I like helping little kids. I don’t want them to get bad examples from other people. I try to give them the best example I can, to do their best and stay in school.”

--Jesus Rodriguwz, 16, who lives in Anaheim’s Jeffrey-Lynne area and volunteers as a youth basketball coach.

* “What do I say to the kids who are gang members when one of their friends has been killed? We had a boy from our group, Carlos, killed not too long ago. If I was to point out how Carlos’ mother was crying out the night he died, and ask the, ‘Do you want your mother to be crying like that one night? That’s the place where you can begin to get their attention. Because Mom is a symbol of safety and security and love.”

--Father Christopher Smith, Saint Joseph Church in Santa Ana.

* “We’re like normal people. We just dress and act differently. I just like to kick back, party, and hang out with my homeboys.”

--Javier, 16, a Westminister 10th grader who says he is a gang member.

* “(A skinhead gang) is a gang of people, but it’s not like it’s a thing about fighting. It’s about learning an teaching others and preaching (white power)...I think it’s just a joke how other gangs go looking for fights.”

--Sam, 15, of Huntington Beach, who says he is a skinhead.

* “I have thought of moving out but where do I go to? Wherever I move to there are going to be gangs there, too. What can you do? Is there a place without any gangs?”

--Lucia Esquivel, 28, a resident of Anaheim’s Jeffrey-Lynne neighborhood.

* “I fight with everyone. Don’t like no one. ...I hate people, period...I just get very annoyed by everything.”

--Jason, 15, of Huntington Beach, who says he is a skinhead

* “We’ve lost our thrust of respect for human beings. To take someone’s life is but a passing thought now. ...We need to give kids hope, I think that’s what it boils down to.”

--Rudy Castruita, Santa Ana Unified School District superintendent.

* “We’re seeing more and more of these gang kids coming in (to be buried) here. It’s just getting worse.”

--Gary A. Sepulveda, MacDougall Family Mortuary counselor.

* “I’m sorry but as long as there are bullets flying up and down the street we have to stop it. ...The first job with the Police Department is ensuring public safety.”

--James Cook, Westminster Police Chief.

* “We need more help from the federal government, and the Brady Bill is a start. A lot of these young people have no business carrying guns. Government should do things that will make it much more serious to sell guns to minors.”

--Miguel a. Pulido Jr., Santa Ana city councilman.

* “A lot of them (gang members) don’t have love from their families. We give them love respect. We give them love right there in the neighborhood.”

--Francisco, 15, a gang member from Huntington Beach.

* “A lot of kids (in South County) have parents who moved out of troubled areas. (The kid) may have been a small fish where he was from, but down here he may start a gang.”

--Stan Jacquot, Orange County Sheriff’s Dept. Sergeant overseeing the gang enforcement team.

* “I got shot four months ago--and that changed my life around.”

--Joel Trujillo, 30, a Santa ana ex-gang member active in Victory Outreach Church.

* “Only putting (gang members) in jail is not going to solve it ... because when you lock one up then another comes along to replace them. I think that’s the biggest thing that time has taught us.”

--Ted Labahn, Anaheim Police Lieutenant overseeing the gang and criminal intelligence units.

* “People don’t think (female gangs are) as violent, but they are. They can be mean. They’re a little bit smarter than the guys though ... they don’t get caught as much because they use the image of being female to get out of it.”

--Andrea Paredes, an Anaheim outreach worker.

* “you have to find avenues for kids to have success outside of the gang. You just can’t say ‘drop the gang,” and do nothing.”

--Ron Forsyth, Garden Grove Unified School.

Gangs Growing in Orange County Orange County is home to 275 identified gangs with a total membership of nearly 17,000. Most known members are Latino, and about one-fifth are younger than 18.

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Total known members 1991: 12,500 1992: 15,300 1993: 16,902

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Age Younger than 18: 20% 18-21 years old: 39 22 and older: 41

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Ethnicity Latino: 85% Asian, Pacific Islander: 13 White: 1 Black: 1

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Who Gets Counted Orange County authorities say they have counted 16,902 gang members in the county, although not all are actively engaged in criminal activity, and simply belonging to one of the groups is not illegal. Authorities say at least one of the following criteria must be met to identify someone as a gang member.

* * Admits to gang membership * Reliable informant identifies individual as a gang member * Untested informant identifies someone as a gang member, and membership is corroborated by independent information * Individual lives in or frequents a particular gang area and affects the style of dress, or use of hand signs, symbols or tattoos, and associates with known gang members * Individual has been arrested several times in the company of identified gang members for offenses consistent with usual gang activity.

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Moving Targets

In addition to the “territorial gangs” whose “turfs” are shown on the map on the facing page, police say there are more than 100 other street gangs and hate groups active in Orange County. Several Asian gangs, which do not usually claim turf, concentrate their activities in various cities in the county, including Westminster, Garden Grove and Santa Ana. Gang investigators say it is difficult to estimate how many Asian gangs exist in the county because of their continual movement. But there are about 17 Asian gangs in Westminster and about 15 in Garden Grove, police say. In addition, there are at least six black street gangs and some skinhead groups that do not claim turf, but do commit crimes here. The nomadic groups include:

* LA Death Squad, based in Anaheim

* Orange County Public Enemy 1, based in Anaheim

* Confederate Front of America, based in Anaheim

* Fourth Reich Skinheads

* Nuthood Crips, based in Anaheim

* Vice Lords, based in Anaheim

* Cheap Boys, nomadic

* O.C. Boys, nomadic

* Orange County Skinheads

* Huntington Beach Hardcores

* Huntington Beach Skins

* SSS: South Side Scissors, in the Westminster-Garden Grove area

* IBK: Innocent But Killer, in the Westminster-Garden Grove area

* EWF: Every Woman’s Fantasy: An Asian gang in Huntington Beach

* Oriental Dragon Girls

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The Crimes They Commit

Although the total number of gang-related criminal cases filed in Orange County courts declined for the first time in 1992, the last year for which complete numbers are available, violent crimes--including murders--are on the upswing. The district attorney’s office says the decline in court cases does not necessarily mean that gang crime itself is declining. Unfortunately, many gang crimes go unsolved, as did nearly two-thirds of the gang-related murders in 1992.

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Gang-Related Criminal Case Filings

1989 1990 1991 1992 Cases Cases Cases Cases Latino 730 (58%) 1,385 (61%) 1,905 (62%) 2,150 (74%) Asian 54 (4%) 144 (6%) 303 (10%) 355 (12%) Black 29 (2%) 30 (1%) 19 (1%) 15 (1%) White 43 (3%) 59 (3%) 98 (3%) 63 (2%) Multiethnic 380 (30%) 549 (24%) 583 (19%) 73 (3%) Out of county 32 (3%) 118 (5%) 142 (5%) 208 (7%) Other -- -- -- 36 (1%) Totals 1,268 2,285 3,050 2,900

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Gang-related murders 1990: 28 1991: 32 1992: 43 1993: 60* * Year to date *

Sentencing of Gang Members

1989 1990 1991 1992 State prison 18 20 62 71 California Youth Authority 37 68 96 79 Probation, juvenile hall, jail 970 1,891 2,269 2,449

Sources: Orange County district attorney’s office; Orange County Probation Department; Anaheim, Westminster, Huntington Beach and Garden Grove police departments; Researched by ERIC YOUNG / Los Angeles Times